The movie ends with the promise of more to come, and even introduces a new character in the final scenes. The live-action film is based on a Nickelodeon animated series launched in 2005 that tells the epic tale of Aang, a young monk with the power to control the elements. On the TV show, Aang’s story was told over three seasons, each one a separate “book” titled Water, Earth and Fire. The movie focused on the Water section, and Shyamalan has talked of his intention to make follow-up films.

The movie sequel’s fate may be based on how well the first feature does in international markets. Executives at Paramount are waiting to see how the movie performs over the next several weeks during the film’s full international rollout.

“The Last Airbender” earned $5.3 million in international markets this past weekend, with an international total as of today of $18.9 million from 7 markets, including Russia, where it has grossed $14 million so far and Japan, where it has brought in $1.5 million. The film will launch this weekend in Egypt, Israel, Turkey and the Philippines.

A spokesperson for Paramount says that “no decision has been made” about a sequel.

“Airbender’s” initial numbers haven’t held up that well at the domestic box office. This weekend, the film took in just $7.8 million, a 53 percent drop from the previous week.

A spokesman for Nickelodeon said that the network has had “development discussions about a potential new series” with “Avatar” creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Nickelodeon would not give any specifics about the new show, or confirm that it had been given a green light.

Are you looking forward to a sequel to the animated series? Should Paramount make a follow-up to the live action movie? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.